Method of Teaching and Learning

Methods of Teaching

A teacher has to make use of various kinds of methods, devices and techniques of teaching. A teacher has to make use of a suitable method for making his teaching meaningful, purposeful, interesting and effective. A good method of teaching can bring out good results even from a weak curriculum. On the other hand a bad method of teaching can make a mess of a good curriculum. Therefore, it can rightly be said that success or failure of teaching depends on its methods. The methods of teaching should be according to the needs and interest of learners.

Teaching Methodology

Teaching and learning are the two sides of a coin. The most accepted criterion for measuring good teaching is the amount of student learning that occurs. There are consistently high correlations between students’ ratings of the “amount learned” in the course and their overall ratings of the teacher and the course. There are different types of teaching methods that can be categorized into four broad types.

1. Teacher-centered methods,
2. Learner-centered methods,
3. Content-focused methods; and
4. Interactive/participative methods.

1. Teacher-Centred Methods

Here the teacher casts himself/herself in the role of being a master of the subject matter. The teacher is looked upon by the learners as an expert or an authority. Learners, on the other hand, are presumed to be passive and copious recipients of knowledge from the teacher.

Examples of such methods are expository or lecture methods– which require little or no involvement of learners in the teaching process. It is also for this lack of involvement of the learners in what they are taught, that such methods are called “closed-ended”.

2. Learner-Centred Methods

In learner-centered methods, the teacher/instructor is both a teacher and a learner at the same time. In the words of Lawrence Stenhouse, the teacher plays a dual role as a learner as well “so that in his classroom extends rather than constricts his intellectual horizons”.

The teacher also learns new things every day which he/she didn’t know in the process of teaching. The teacher “becomes a resource rather than an authority”. Examples of learner-centered methods are the discussion method, the discovery or inquiry-based approach, and Hill’s model of learning through discussion (LTD).

3. Content-Focused Methods

In this category of methods, both the teacher and the learners have to fit into the content that is taught. Generally, this means the information and skills to be taught are regarded as sacrosanct or very important.

A lot of emphasis is laid on the clarity and careful analyses of content. Both the teacher and the learners cannot alter or become critical of anything to do with the content. An example of a method that subordinates the interests of the teacher and learners to the content is the programmed learning approach.

4. Participative Methods

This fourth category borrows a bit from the three other methods without necessarily laying emphasis unduly on either the learner, content, or teacher. These methods are driven by the situational analysis of what is the most appropriate thing for us to learn/do now given the situation of learners and the teacher.

Various Types of Teaching Method

A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has to be in relation with the characteristic of the learner and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about. Any Teacher or Student can choose any method of teaching on the basis of thier requirements from the given bellow of teaching method-

1. Brain Storming Method
2. Project Method
3. Role Play Method
4. Story Board Teaching Method
5. Teaching Outside the Classroom
6. Problem Solving Method
7. Programmed Instruction Method
8. Small Group Instruction Method
9. Flipped Classroom Teaching Method
10. Assignment Method of Teaching
11. Buzz Group Teaching Method
12. Demonstration Method
13. Discussion Method of Teaching
14. Team Teaching Method

Characteristics and advantages of good teaching method

1. It should provide a group of related experiences and activities, arranged on an individual as well as group basis.
2. It should give scope for the creative expression of the child's individuality.
3. It should rouse a large range of interest in the minds of the students.
4. It should shift emphasis from verbalism and memorization to learning through purposeful, concrete and realistic situations.
5. It should train the students in the techniques of self-study and the methods of acquiring knowledge through personal effort or intuition.
6. It should stimulate the desire for further study and explorations.
7. It should awaken an interest in the materials and techniques used by social scientists.

Factors which determine the selection of a teaching method

1. The nature of the child
2. The objectives of instruction
3. The nature of the subject matter
4. Class room environment
5. Expertise of the teacher who adopts a method

Read also

• Lecture Method of Teaching
• Buzz Group Teaching Method
• Assignment Method of Teaching